The present application relates generally to an improved data processing apparatus and method and more specifically to mechanisms for improving write performance in solid state storage by recognizing copy source to target operations and only storing updates instead of entire blocks.
A solid-state drive (SSD) is a data storage device that uses solid-state memory to store persistent data with the intention of providing access in the same manner of a traditional block I/O hard disk drive. SSDs are distinguished from traditional hard disk drives (HDDs), which are electromechanical devices containing spinning disks and movable read/write heads. SSDs, in contrast, use microchips which retain data in non-volatile memory chips and contain no moving parts. Compared to electromechanical HDDs, SSDs are typically less susceptible to physical shock, are quieter, and have lower access time and latency. SSDs use the same interface as hard disk drives, thus easily replacing them in most applications.
SSDs are starting to revolutionize the data center as heretofore unheard of levels of performance are now possible. Servers can bring in more data, and the input/output (IO) bottleneck is not as large it once was. Storage systems are also starting to use SSDs as tiers of storage alongside HDDs. In some cases, pure SSD configurations are starting to be used. Because SSDs hold vital client data, it is important that the drives still have some sort of disaster recovery solution applied to them like flash copy or peer-to-peer remote copy or both.